Farmers in the Midwest produce approximately 80 percent of the nation's corn and soybean crops. The impact of practices to produce these crops, specifically the use of fertilizers and herbicides, has created concerns about the quality of our water resources. To address these concerns, the U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated five comprehensive projects to evaluate and develop profitable cropping systems that safeguard water resources. Known as the Management Systems Evaluation Areas (MSEA), main study sites were established in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio.

Atrazine Management and Water Quality discusses how atrazine is used in Missouri, water quality concerns, factors that influence atrazine movement, considerations and recommendations for best management practices, management practices that don't work in Missouri, and additional research needs. Although this publication was designed specifically for Missouri, this information is also applicable to other areas of the Midwest with climatic conditions, land use and soils with moderately high to high runoff potential similar to those of northern Missouri. It may be of particular interest to those in four of Missouri's neighboring states — Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma.